Global Water Dances: A Model for Global Justice and Community Agency

Abstract

Global Water Dances is a biannual global event that draws on Rudolf Laban’s movement choirs, indigenous practices, creative pedagogy, social neuroscience, and community dance to address local and global concerns about water. This article highlights some of the discoveries and best practices the authors have noted and developed over the 10years of the project. Beginning with a conference on Laban and Ecology at Schumacher College in Devon, England, in 2008, the project has evolved from over 50 sites to over 160 sites in 2019. The authors share some of the stories from around the globe and discuss what has been learned regarding local wisdom and ritual, the value of finding common ground, the need for human connection, and the value of dance practices and dance education in developing shared agency, purpose, and social inclusion.